Published on November 22 2017 11:09 pm
Last Updated on November 22 2017 11:43 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

The Effingham Hearts held on for a 52-50 win over Okaw Valley while the St. Anthony Bulldogs lost an early lead and fell to the Highland Bulldogs 63-57 in Wednesday action at the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.

Effingham maintained a double-digit lead through most of the first three quarters, up 16-8 after one quarter, 24-13 at halftime, and 36-26 after three quarters.

Then came the fourth quarter.

Okaw Valley unleashed 24 points in the period, almost as many as they had scored in the first three periods. The Timberwolves did most of their damage with the three ball, hitting six of them in the period. The chief culprit was Austin Harshman, a 5'7" senior who hit four threes in the quarter and made all four of his foul shots. That's 16 points for Harshman in the quarter after not scoring in the first three periods.

Still, the Hearts scored 16 points in the period, which turned out to be just enough to post the two-point win. 11 of those 16 points came from the foul line as Effingham scored just two baskets in the period, both by Mason Hull. Hull also made all of his four foul shots to end up with nine points in the quarter.

Hull finished with 15 points and was one of three double-figure scorers for the Hearts. Ryan Sandifer scored 17 points for the second straight game to lead Effingham. Landon Wolfe scored 14 points, nine in the first quarter, but was then plagued by fouls and eventually fouled out of the game. Also for Effingham, Cole Marxman scored five points and Lucas Hagler made a foul shot for the other point.

Harshman's 16 points led Okaw Valley.

Effingham made 16 of 39 shots for 41% including 4 of 15 threes. The Hearts made 15 of 25 foul shots for 60%, grabbed 25 rebounds and turned the ball over 11 times.

Okaw Valley made 16 of 52 shots for 31% including 12 of 34 threes. That means just four made twos. The Timberwolves only shot six free throws, but made them all. They grabbed 24 rebounds and committed 10 turnovers.

Here are the Hearts' individual stats: Mason Hull--3 of 7 from the field, including 2 of 5 threes, 7 of 10 from the line, 11 rebounds, 15 points...Landon Wolfe--5 of 13 from the field, including 1 of 4 threes, 3 of 4 from the line, 5 rebounds, 14 points...Cole Marxman--2 of 5 from the field, 1 of 1 from the line, 6 rebounds, 5 points...Logan Smith--0 for 2 from the field, 1 rebound...Ryan Sandifer--6 of 10 from the field, including 1 of 5 threes, 4 of 8 foul shots, 2 rebounds, 17 points...Lucas Hagler--1 of 2 from the line, 1 point...Lucas Vasquez--0 for 1 from the field, 1 rebound.

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St. Anthony exploded out of the gate in their contest, leading 8-0 just a couple of minutes into the game. They were up 19-10 after the first quarter, but Highland climbed back into the game. Highland outscored St. Anthony 19-13 in the second quarter to pull within 32-29, and outpointed St. Anthony 17-9 in the third period to lead 46-41. Highland posted a 17-16 edge in the final stanza to win by six.

St. Anthony made 18 of 43 shots for 42%, including 6 of 18 threes. The Northsiders made 15 of 22 foul shots, pulled down 19 rebounds and committed 14 turnovers.

Highland finished hitting 58% from the field on 21 of 36 shooting, including 8 of 14 threes. Highland was 13 of 21 from the line, grabbed 21 rebounds and turned the ball over 17 times.

Here's a look at the St. Anthony stats: Cade Walsh--3 of 8 from the field, including 1 of 6 threes...1 rebound, 7 points...Alex Deters--4 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 6 threes, 4 of 4 foul shots, 2 rebounds, 14 points...Alex Beesley--2 of 2 from the field, including 1 of 1 three, 2 of 4 foul shots, 5 rebounds, 7 points...Adam Levitt--3 of 8 from the field, 4 of 5 foul shots, 4 rebounds, 10 points...Brandon Runge--2 of 3 from the field, 2 of 2 from the line, 2 rebounds, 6 points...Jack Nuxoll--3 of 8 from the field, including 2 of 5 threes, 3 of 4 foul shots, 3 rebounds, 11 points...Luke Ludwig--0 for 2 from the field, including 0 of 1 threes, 0 for 1 foul shots, 2 rebounds...Jaccob Dust--1 for 1 from the field, 0 for 2 foul shots, 2 points.

Jake Kruse with 16 points and Michael Barth with 15 led the Highland attack.

In the other contest, Mattoon downed Breese Central 55-50.

That leaves in one pool, Effingham at 2-0, St. Anthony and Highland 1-1, and Okaw Valley 0-2, and in the other pool, Robinson 2-0, Mattoon and St. Thomas More 1-1, and Breese Central 0-2.

Friday's games will include Okaw Valley vs Highland at 3pm, St. Thomas More vs Mattoon at 4:30pm, Breese Central vs. Robinson at 6pm, and St. Anthony vs Effingham at 7:30pm. The outcome of those games will decide who plays whom on Saturday.

We will broadcast the St. Anthony vs Effingham game on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com and will also videotape the game.

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CERRO GORDO/BEMENT BOYS TURKEY TOURNAMENT

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg 46, Blue Ridge 40

MULBERRY GROVE BOYS TOURNAMENT

Mt. Olive 83, Ramsey 52

Mulberry Grove 80, South Central 74

St. Elmo/Brownstown 62, Father McGivney 27

BOB KERANS NEWTON GIRLS TOURNAMENT

Altamont 39, Flora 36

Effingham 62, Newton 31 (Lady Hearts Coach Jeff Schafer said, "We played another solid game tonight; Carsyn Fearday was good tonight (15 points) and Shelby Myers celebrated her birthday with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Again, everyone contributed. Abby Weis came back from her ankle injury and contributed 10 points. It was a good win.") Effingham is off to a 3-0 start